Custom, Folkestone

Butternut squash terrine with Kentish blue and nasturtium

Mackerel with sea buckthorn and cavalo nero

Beetroot gnocchi with pickled grapes, romanesco and saffron yogurt

Folkestone huss with pine roasted carrots and nettle broth

Rosehip soup with creme fraiche

Folkestone pudding pie

Custom in a nutshell

Art meets food meets community at Folkestone’s new restaurant in Harbour Arm.

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Who’s cooking?

Chef and artist Cherry Truluck and her team are all about bringing people together for great food and shared interests. Through Cherry’s imaginative menus, food-focussed artistic projects and a unique bartering system, Custom aims to make fantastic local food, and the pleasure of sharing it with others, available to everyone. 

Kyoto Sushi and Grill, Ramsgate

As with most of the seaside towns along the Kent coast, Ramsgate has been heralded as ‘up and coming’, the next big deal, the place where it’s all happening. On a drizzly, dark October night, I can’t say this is the impression I got. However, once we sat down at our table at Kyoto Sushi and Grill and started reading through the extensive menu, I began to think that maybe there was something about this town that was slightly ahead of the Kentish curve.

A Modern Mexican Menu at Kipps’ Alehouse, May 31/June 14, 2015

When I first moved to the UK lots of people asked me if there was anything I would miss from California. I gave the obvious answers: family, friends, Californian zinfandel, sunshine. But it never even crossed my mind that there was something bound up in California’s identity that is nearly impossible to find in the UK: Mexican food.

Spring Equinox Supper Club at Follies March 22, 2015

So the next supper club will be at Follies on March 22 and, with enough support, I’m hoping to make it a five course vegetarian feast to ring in the spring equinox.

Meatless Monday: White Bean Puree with Caramelized Endive and Balsamic Onions

A few months ago I bought Diana Henry’s A Change of Appetite on a whim; I saw a tweet from Leite’s Culinaria about this white bean purée piled high with beautiful purple radicchio and red onions and it looked good enough that I went straight onto Amazon and bought the cookbook. I have not been disappointed.

Meatless Monday: Green Tomato and Melon Salad with Cumin Vinaigrette

 

 

So this salad is just, like, incredible. Believe me, I needed convincing too because melon is at the top of my ‘don’t like’ list. Melon and cucumber are the two foods that I have not grown to like as I’ve reached adulthood. But somehow, in some magical, mysterious way, the honey dew in this recipe works. Maybe it’s the punchy cilantro or the fiery kick of jalapeño drawing the attention away from the paltry, watery sweetness of the melon. Or maybe it’s the tartness of the unripe green tomatoes that just seems to create such a harmonious bowl of food.

Meatless Monday: Clean out the fridge casserole

https://flic.kr/p/4zJ9yb

I know that the title of this post may not immediately drive you wild. In fact, the idea of sad, limp vegetables, mold and food just generally past its prime will be enough to put most people off. However, with all the waste there is in the world I think it’s important to make people aware of how transformative cooking can be for a bunch of sad old vegetables.

Meatless Monday: Hot and Sour Soup

There are some recipes that we just naturally leave to the experts. You know, those dishes you order every time you go out for a certain type of cuisine, but you would never attempt to make at home? Hot and sour soup was one of those for me. I just always assumed it was full of exotic ingredients and made with time honored techniques, nothing I could even think about making in my own western kitchen. Boy, was I wrong!

Meatless Monday: Vegetable Tempura with Soy Ginger Dipping Sauce

Light and fresh, crispy and vibrant, vegetable tempura is the perfect supper for a week night or a special weekend treat accompanied by spring onion pancakes (I use this recipe) or teriyaki tofu. The key to crispy, light tempura batter is ice cold sparkling water and mixing the batter at the very last moment before frying.

Meatless Monday: Zucchini and Corn Tacos

After my trip to California, I came back to England craving vegetables. Usually I would have been so packed full of vegetables after a trip home that I would come back here craving junk, but this was such a whistle-stop tour that there was very little eating at home and when we did it was what was quick and satisfying − cheese, bread and wine. So I came back wanting vegetables of all colors, all at once and right now! These tacos were the perfect antidote to a week of gout-inducing luxury.